AICE Media Studies AS- Sniderman, S

This is my rough draft for the end of semester check. I created this version in Microsoft Word since it is quicker to work with than InDesign. I have all of the pages setup for InDesign though and I the final draft will be made with it.

We have learned a lot during the first part of our project. Both of us were not very familiar with the creative process, and that is reflected in our magazine. We decided on using an academic topic and using an academic format as this was something we were both familiar with. I had used photo editing software before and I was already familiar with Microsoft office products (I hold a certification in Word), but the design is still rough. The next step in our design stage is making better pictures and designs by utilizing Adobe products. We will use more Photoshop to make our graphics and then InDesign to put the final product together. For my article I will finish up the text as well as make new content. I will order clay and make replica tablets to include in the finished product. Sam will use Photoshop to make creative renderings and edits to the pictures he is using. We have not quite made it there yet, but we have learned in these first several weeks and we will use what we have l...

  This project has been both a very individual endeavor while also relying on heavy collaboration at the same time. The foundations of the magazine had to be collaborated on. Sam and I had to work on and develop designs for our cover, for our content pages, and how we would write up our material. This required constant communication on what we were doing. The whole process of that definitely slowed things down. Sam and I never argued over this but we were often both at a loss on how we should design something. The back tracking that occurred also had to be communicated and shared. When I decided to make a new style for the cover and content pages I had to inform Sam of it. First I had to tell him that I had decided to make these changes, I had to send me my new templates, and I had to tell not to use the old designs. The reverse happened a few times in the beginning when we were still refining our concept and who was doing what article.

  The pictures I would be using in the magazine was bound to be a problem from the start. I am unable to travel to Iraq and Egypt to take my own photos, and the sheer age of my topic would make it impossible to get many useable photos anyway. I had to find a solution. So I started thinking of photos of Iraq I would use in my article. Irrigation canals and marshlands are a defining feature of southern Mesopotamia, and where I live in Florida has a similar enough landscape to southern Iraq. In my area there are numerous drainage canals, which when view from the correct angle are very similar in appearance to those in Iraq. I went out and took some photos canals, and those will be included in the magazine. I will soon be placing an order for a block of clay, and I will make replica cuneiform tablets to include in the article. I can also rely on some of Sam’s work as well. A few summers ago he went to Utah and I can use some of his original photos in lieu of Iraqi desert shots. The l...